The Tragedy of Harvey and The Need for Constitutional Prayer

Hurricane Harvey first made landfall as a Category 4 storm near Rockport, Texas, on the evening of August 25, 2017.

The storm has since devastated communities in both Texas and Louisiana, claiming many lives, inflicting countless injuries, destroying or damaging tens of thousands of homes, and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Authorities raised the death toll from the storm to 50 as the latest statewide damage surveys revealed the staggering extent of the destruction.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said more than 37,000 homes were heavily damaged and nearly 7,000 were destroyed, figures that did not include the tens of thousands of homes with minor damage.

Mirroring the sentiment of our founders - taken from the Declaration of Independence “With a Firm Reliance on Divine Providence” - President Donald Trump recently issued a proclamation designating September 3, of this year to be a National Day of Prayer for the victims of Hurricane Harvey and national response and recovery efforts.

This call for prayer from the Chief Executive of these United States is not only constitutional, it is his duty.

You see, the first role of the President of the United States is to ensure the safety and protection of the People. Doing so requires the aid of our Creator and benefactor of those rights that every individual, regardless of party or creed, cherish.

Thomas Jefferson summarized this sentiment in his second inaugural address:

“I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our forefathers, as Israel of old, from their native land, and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with his providence, and our riper years with his wisdom and power; and to whose goodness I ask you to join with me in supplications, that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures, that whatsoever they do, shall result in your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations.”

Our dependence on the God of Heaven is what created, preserved and keeps us united as Americans. Evidence of this can be found in the so-far 144 national calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting and thanksgiving by United States presidents since 1789.

There have been 67 Presidential Proclamations for a National Day of Prayer with many presidents signing multiple National Day of Prayer Proclamations in the same year.

Please understand this is not just a Presidential thing either.

The website nationaldayofprayer.org notes that records indicate there have been 1,419 state and federal calls for national prayer since 1775 and counting.

About the AuthorJake MacAulay

Jake MacAulay serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Institute on the Constitution (IOTC), an educational outreach that presents the founders’ “American View” of law and government. IOTC has produced thousands of graduates in all 50 states with a full understanding of the Biblical principles on which America’s founding documents are based.
Jake is the former co-host of the syndicated talk show, The Sons of Liberty, an ordained minister and has spoken to audiences nation-wide, and has established the American Club, a constitutional study group in public and private schools.
Jake has been seen on Yahoo News, Fox News, The Blaze, AP, CBS, NBC, The Weekly Standard, and more…

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